Head coach Ryan Ball and Gabe Hagar hold up a banner recognizing the senior’s 1,000th point for the Eagles. (Mic LeBel photo)
Gabe Hagar joined a short list of Lincoln Academy basketball legends by scoring his 1,000th career point in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 77-28 win over Leavitt on Friday, Feb. 2 in the Eagles’ nest.
Only eight other Lincoln Academy athletes have reached the milestone in the history of the school. The most recent 1,000 point scorers for the Eagles reached the milestone in 2017, when Cody Tozier accomplished the feat for the boys team, and Brie Wajer for the girls.
“Gabe’s a great player and captain for our team,” said Eagles coach Ryan Ball, who has coached Hagar and many of his teammates at various age levels over the past decade. “Gabe has always put in the extra effort to improve his skills, and make his teammates better as well. He’s shown tremendous improvement and growth each year.”
In Hagar’s first season at Lincoln, in 2020-2021, the Eagles were 2-9 and Hagar scored 104 points. The season was seven games shorter than usual, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sophomore, he tallied 197 points and the Eagles improved to 4-13.
In his junior year Hagar led Lincoln to a 14-6 record and a playoff win while he scored 384.
This year, he’s averaging 20 points per game and already has 334 points. The Eagles are 14-3 and are serious playoff contenders for the first season in a long time.
“Gabe’s game has evolved,” said his father and offseason club team coach Seth Hagar, who has bonded with his son over their lifetime playing and watching basketball and other sports together. “In the early days in his rookie year he was mostly a point guard sniping long 3-pointers.”
Over the past few seasons, teams have marked Hagar, forcing him to find different ways to score and help the team, according to Ball.
“His inside post game has become much more effective along with his ability to cut to the rim and look to finish off the pass,” said Ball. “He’s always been a very good rebounder, especially this season. Gabe always seems to be where the ball is.”
Hagar’s focus is not just on offense these days, Ball said, pointing out that the senior has worked hard to increase his foot speed and defensive abilities.
“Nobody has worked harder than Gabe,” said Ball. “The reason he’s been able to reach 1,000 points is all his dedication and a great group of teammates around him that all have important roles and share the same goal. They did it for each other, and we’ve been doing it together for over 10 years.”
Hagar started playing basketball at the age of 6, when he joined the CLC YMCA’s Y-Ball program. He began to really enjoy the sport around fifth grade, and soon joined a travel team coached by Ball.
Having watched both Tozier and Wajer, a family friend, reach 1,000 points, the idea of reaching the milestone entered Hagar’s mind around the end of his sophomore season and he’s worked toward it ever since.
“It was a goal I wanted to achieve and worked hard to get it,” said Hagar. “I was going to the gym almost every day and working on shooting and many other aspects of the game.”
Despite Gabe’s success and accolades, one would never know it from his demeanor on and off the court.
“His humble and respectful attitude is one of my favorite things about Gabe as a player all these years,” said Seth Hagar. “Gabe’s not a loud and showy player and neither is his coach or this team – they have a ‘play it, don’t say it’ philosophy. Gabe is old-school in how he respects the game, his coaches, teammates, the officials, the school, his opponents and the fans in the gym.”
Seth Hagar said he is not only proud of his son’s achievement but of the rebuilding of the basketball culture, school pride, and excitement that Ball and team have helped to grow in the community in this most recent Eagles era.
“My dad has been a huge role model for me throughout my career because he showed me how to work hard for something you want,” said Gabe Hagar. “Even after he would have a very busy week he would make the time to take me to the gym and work on basketball to get better. He would sign me up for basketball clinics and watch videos on how to help me become a better player. Everything he did was a key factor in the player I am today.”
In addition to reaching his goal, one of Hagar’s favorite basketball moments was beating Medomak Valley this season. It was the first time the Eagles defeated the Panthers since 2014.
“It felt like something we had been working towards for years and we finally achieved it,” Hagar said.
Regardless of the season’s outcome and the 1,000 point milestone, Hagar and his teammates have helped bring back excitement to the Lincoln Academy basketball program, and the loud, crowded gym at home games is proof of that.
“My favorite thing about this Lincoln team is the fact that I get to play with some of my best friends and it’s coached by one of the best coaches in the state,” said Hagar. “Coach Ball has invested so much time, effort, and energy into us that nobody gets to see and he deserves a lot of credit.”
“Gabe’s future is bright and it has a lot more ahead than just basketball,” said Ball. I’m lucky to have gotten the chance to know him through sports and Gabe and this team will always be very special to me.”
The 1,000-point scorers at Lincoln Academy consist of Tozier and Wajer (2017), Heather Taylor (2001), Chris Howell (2000), Justin Drake (1996), Chris McKinney and Kyle O’Bryan (1989), and Jennifer Conley (1982).
